Airport immigration sign

Q. I owe the IRS back taxes. Can I nevertheless become a U.S. citizen? I have had my green card for more than five years now, but I have some tax issues. I owe the IRS and have yet to work out a payment plan. I run a small business. If I could get a U.S. government small business loan, I could invest in my company and then pay off my debt. Must I be a U.S. citizen to get that loan?

Name withheld, New Jersey

A. It is unlikely that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will let you naturalize until you at least arrange for an IRS payment plan.

Failure to pay taxes or report income shows a lack of the “good moral character” required to naturalize. A permanent resident can naturalize without filing a tax return and paying taxes only if he or she earned no income or, earned so little that the law doesn’t require filing.

I’m no expert on qualifying for federal Small Business Administration loans, but I know that permanent residents and some others lawfully here can get the loans. You should check with the SBA.

Q. My mom has applied to naturalize. If she becomes a U.S. citizen, will that make it easier for me to get my citizenship? I’m 25, unmarried and a permanent resident. I came here in 2012.

Name withheld, New York

A. No matter whether your mother naturalizes, you’ll need to have been a permanent resident for five years before you can become a U.S. citizen. You can file your application four years and nine months from the date you became a permanent resident.

Permanent residents who are not yet 18 when a parent naturalizes sometimes automatically get U.S. citizenship. Permanent residents who are 18 or older can naturalize after five years of permanent residency. The wait is just three years for green card holders married to, and living with, a U.S. citizen spouse. Those applying as the spouse of a U.S. citizen can file their application two years and 9 months after getting residence.

Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 4 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.